​Darwood & Smitty - Chapter 10

Sure enough, the news channel was electric with speculation and purported insights the next morning, with a pre-conference following a pre-pre-conference. It wasn’t that the president never made special appearances; it was that the news channel always made a big deal of them. The more drama, the better, because it got people involved in politics in a smarmy kind of way.

“With the S.I. legislation under vote tomorrow, there’s no question that the president intends to talk about this,” said one supposed expert. “Probably he means to sway votes one way or another. Publicly, of course, he is all for breaking up the undue influence of the corporate conglomerates, and a lot of people are pretty sure that he’s going to explain one last time why this legislation is important and to encourage people to call their Senators and demand that they support the legislation.”

“Well, yes. He helped to arrange for this legislation,” said the person interviewing him. “You think he has some sort of different plan?”

“Absolutely. This is where years of political analysis pay off. You see, you’ve really got to look beyond the obvious when it comes to politics. You’ve got to look to underlying motives. The president no doubt helped to set up this legislation in order to look like a hero and keep high approval ratings. But you know, no one can really get much done without working together with the corporations. It just doesn’t make any political sense to disregard them. So I’m confident that the president will keep talking about why this legislation is so important ... but why this version of it needs to be rejected. He’ll find some small problem with it, then blast it to pieces, saying it needs to be reworked.”

“Sure. Ok,” said the interviewer.

“Total nonsense,” said Smitty to Darwood as they munched some chips while sitting on their beds. “The president has known what was in that legislation for a week and has kept on supporting it. That guy can’t believe what he’s saying.”

“Well, I’ve never seen him on this channel anyway,” said Darwood through a mouthful. “Probably some bozo actor just agreeing to play an expert.” Smitty hit the mute and they ignored the TV until the president himself finally came on stage.

President Keane was fascinating to Smitty because he not only stood up to the powers-that-be, but he did so with utter confidence. As he approached the podium, there was no sense of hesitation, no sense of concern for what might happen if he drew first blood. He knew what was right, and he would stick to that path. It was something that Smitty knew he himself couldn’t do. Not the way the president did. The two men might share values, but Smitty was sure his nerves would get the best of him if he ever had to put himself into that kind of situation. He watched in awe as the president took his place and began to speak.

“My fellow Earthlings, today we stand on the brink of the critical S.I. legislation — the special interest legislation aimed not at bringing down the corporate entities that have provided so much for today’s standard of living, but at allowing more freedom in terms of competition. This will encourage even higher standards of living across the globe and — we hope — remove certain heavy influences from our political world as well. You know this has been an important topic to me because I believe it is critical for the well-being of all people.

“I’m here to talk with you about this legislation, but not, perhaps, in the way you’re expecting. As it turns out, our process of balancing the needs of our business, political, and personal worlds is being complicated by those who wish to see our efforts fail. Now, because I have stood so strongly against corporate special interests and those who would benefit from such interests, I’ve been painted as something of an enemy to corporations in general and even to politicians in general. I have never intended to be. I am only seeking to restore a proper balance.

“So when I say that there are those trying to make us fail, it may sound as if I’m talking about corporate or political leaders. I am not. I am still seeking to work with them at every turn, so long as they are willing to consider world needs along with their own.” The president paused to make sure this message sank in. It was one that Smitty knew he kept trying to get out to people, but the media sound bites always pitted him against most of the corporations and politicians. It seemed that the media loved to start wars too.

“As I said, we face a substantial challenge already, trying to balance the needs of all. Now imagine that an outside force was trying to sabotage our solutions. And imagine that, by simple sabotage, they could open up our world to invasion. Are you, my fellow Earthlings, prepared to be taken hostage by another world? Because I stand here right now to tell you things you do not yet know about how things work. I’m going to make it clear, my friends, just how close we are to that invasion now.”

The president paused, as if for effect, but the pause began to linger, and then linger some more. Despite the holographic nature of TV, it was still not as clear as being there in person. Maybe those watching the president in person caught on to something strange happening before those watching on TV. But finally Darwood and Smitty noticed that the president’s hands were gripping the podium with unusual strain. And suddenly they noticed the steam beginning to rise off his body. And before long, there was pandemonium on site as those watching live realized that the president was being fried from the inside out by someone’s Blitzer.[1] They were watching a presidential assassination.

The TV event suddenly split into four smaller holograms — one continued focusing on the president as the G.I. dove on him in hopes of still saving him. The other holograms showed cameras scanning the event as people began to scream and clear out of the place. But the cameras weren’t just watching that. They were looking for the assassin. Who could have gotten a Blitzer into an event of such high security? Who could be firing it without notice? And most important, could the cameraman who first caught sight of the assassin get some sort of pay bonus or other award for his expert work?

Smitty sat wide-eyed, stunned, unmoving on his bed as he watched the events unfold. Darwood, though, was hopping up and down on his bed. “Ohhh shit!” he said. “Ohhh shit. Shitty shitty shit shit. Smitty. Holy shit. Smitty, what are we supposed to do — they just murdered the president! I mean ... shit. He started getting out the message, but now he’s gone! What are we going to do?”

Smitty still sat wide-eyed, unanswering for a moment. But then, slowly, he turned to his bouncing friend and, as if in shock, asked an even more important question. “It’s not so much what we’re going to do now. It’s more about, what’s going to happen when everyone realizes that the president was never human?”

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[1] Unlike the LightToobs, which were highly effective at a short range, Blitzers were long range weapons that could liquefy someone’s organs with a harsh treatment of microwave and infrared radiation. Relatively speaking there weren’t many of them because the government strictly limited who could have one and where they were being used.

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